In Light and Darkness
by Winter's Majesty
Summary: When the King commits suicide he is sent to our world, where he meets 25 year old Isis, a student with a promising career within the academic community. Wounded, robbed of his powers, grieving and mentally broken, Galbatorix needs Isis' help in order to get back onto his feet, to overcome the effects of the Empathy Spell and to find a way back to Alagaesia to take back his power.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue.

**_Author: I have just taken bits and pieces from the chapter "The gift of knowledge" in Inheritance, written by Christopher Paolini. The pieces concentrating on Galbatorix and his anguish. I figured the rest was useless for my fanfic. I've done a few alterations in the prologue and used my own sentences in between the parts of Paolini's chapter. I apologize for any misspelling, english is not my first language. _**

"What have you done?" he said, his voice hollow and strained. He stepped back and put his fists to his temples. "_What have you done!"_

With an effort, Eragon said, "Made you understand."

The king stared at him with an expression of horror. The muscles of his face jumped and twitched, and his whole body began to shake with tremors. Baring his teeth, he growled, "You will not get the better of me, boy. You…will…not…"He groaned and staggered, and all at once the spell holding Eragon vanished and he fell to the floor, even as Elva, Arya, Saphira, Thorn, Shruikan, and the two children began to move again as well.

"I…shall…not…give…in," said Galbatorix. His face contorted like a madman's, Galbatorix strode toward Eragon and swung Vrangr at him. Eragon rolled to the side and heard the sword strike the stoneby his head.

Shouting, Galbatorix charged at him. Their swords rang like bells, sharp and clear amid the roars of the dragons and the whispers of the dead.

Galbatorix's arm threw off his next strike, and they ended up with their swords locked at the hilt, both striving to push the other off balance. The kings face was twisted almost beyond recognition, and there were tears on his cheeks.

As Eragons leg gave way Galbatorix made no attempt to strike him down.

"No!" cried the king. "I didn't…" He looked at Eragon and shouted, "Make it stop!".

Eragon shook his head even while he scrambled back onto his feet.

Once again Galbatorix ran at Eragon , slashing at him as he did.

Galbatorix delievered two more blows before a third one that hit Eragon in the ribs.

"Make it stop," said Galbatorix, his tone more pleading than threatening. "The pain…"

Eragon was distracted and Galbatorix charged once more directing his sword at Eragons lower back, but he ducked away.

Eragon lunged forward and stabbed Galbatorix in the center of his stomach.

The king grunted, and then he stepped back, pulling himself off Eragons blade. He touched the wound with his free hand and stared at the blood on the tips of his fingers. Then he looked back at Eragon and said, "The voices… the voices are terrible. I can't bear it…." He closed his eyes, and fresh tears streamed down his cheeks. "Pain… so much pain. So much grief… Make it stop! _Make it stop!"_

"No," said Eragon.

Galbatorix's eyes snapped open – round and rimmed with an unnatural amount of white – and he stared into the distance, as if Eragon and those before him no longer existed. He shook and trembled and his jaw worked, but no sound came from his throat.

Two things happened at once, then. Elva let out a shriek and fainted, and Galbatorix shouted, "Waíse néiat!".

Be not.

Searing white light erupted him and the throne room before him vanished in a flash of light. The next thing he knew he was falling through the night and starlight, every moment of his life spiraling before his eyes. A pair of deep blue eyes dominated his vision as he fell towards the deep dark nothing. His body struck a hard cold surface, he tried to move but the air was sucked out from his lungs from the impact. A womans voice was saying something but he couldn't make out her words, only her voice, and it was _her_ voice.

Darkness enveloped him and he blacked out and the whispers and screams finally echoed away.


	2. Chapter 2

As finals are coming up in just two weeks, Isis found herself locked up in her apartment, her phone thrown in under beneath the bed and the Internet connection severed.

That is the life of every student. Fun and drinking the first three months and crying for the rest of the term when you realize you should've started reading months ago. Then after every term, you promise yourself to do better next time, which never happens. Well, to Isis it did. After her first year where she failed one of her exams she was determined to take things more seriously. She stopped going out with friends, and she devoted all her time to her studies. Her grades got better, but her number of friends was sinking at a rapid pace after that. Everyone kept telling Isis that there is a way to balance studies and friends but she truly did not see the point in doing so, as she's in reality not a social person. Maybe one or two persons at the time, more than that and Isis felt like she was suffocating. However she was not friendless, far from, she just thought that real friends don't require someone's constant attention.

She pushed a strand of her pale blonde hair out of her eyes as she scanned through the textbooks, all while trying to ignore all the noise from the neighbours. Music and noise blasting through every creaking wall was something she was accustomed to living with a lot of other students. At times she still thought that she was getting too old for studying. Next year she was going to start write her master thesis in history, and she had already reached the age of 25. Most of Isis' time was spent either at the university, in the official library or at home, in solitude. Just the way she preferred it.

A soundless _boom_ reverberated around the room, and Isis' head shot up, scanning the room. There was something in the air, something drawing the time out, as if it's holding its breath. Everything seemed to be as it should be though. Spending five years in this apartment had given her loads of time to decorate it. The walls were all painted white, but she had resorted to decorate it most alternative. Black furniture and glass was dominating it. Bookshelves covered almost every wall except for a closet, and the only source of light was usually black candles and a lamp, which was running on normal electricity. She always enjoyed the melancholic atmosphere it gave off. As for decorations, the dragon statues were her favourites. She could study them for all time and still not get bored with them.

Just as she was starting to relax again and tried picking up one of the books, the entire apartment started to shake. She shot up from the couch, threw away the book and bolted for the door, but as she reached the door a white blinding light blasted through the window, illuminating the entire apartment, burning through her eyes, blinding her. Screaming, she silently slides down to the floor, trying to cover her eyes and ears, waiting for it stop. When she could no longer tell the difference between the earthquake and her own tremors, she clumsily gets back onto her feet. The light is gone. Still shaking she's makes her way for the window, where smoke is rising from the outside. As she peers outside and down she sees the entire back alley covered in snow, smoke, burnt material and, in the midst of everything, a man.

"Shit." She exclaimed and whirled around. She grabbed her keys and coat and bolted out the door.

She ran as fast as she could down the stairs and out on the usually busy street. Partly disorientated she turns on her heels and runs for the back alley. Checking the surroundings, she carefully starts jogging through the alley till she sees the man lying in between the destruction. "Oh dear," she says and starts running towards him and slide down beside him. "Hello, sir, can you hear me?" He groaned and tried to lift his head, but he wasn't able to move. Drawing her breath, Isis tries to check him for injuries when she realizes her hand is already dripping of blood. His blood. "Oh no," she frantically whispers while trying to locate his wound. She tears away all the rubble covering him and finds his entire stomach covered in blood, a stab wound from the looks of it. "What the hell!" She screams, completely horrified. "We have to get you to a hospital, sir!" she says, and takes his face in her hands and he finally makes eye contact. Pitch-black eyes look back into hers, but they are void and filled with painful emotion. He keeps mumbling something, not able to answer her callings.

She reaches for her phone, searching her pockets, when she realizes she forgot it in the apartment, underneath the bed. Panic welled up inside of her; obviously he would bleed out if he didn't get help soon.

"Ok, just… Stay where you are, okay? Don't move. I'll get help." She told him, as she scrambled back onto her feet and ran for the exit and back into the building. Never in her life has these stairs been so long. Reaching the top she unlocks the door, flings it open and run for her room. She grabs the phone and as she heads back outdoors, not bothering herself with people staring at her and all the blood covering her, dials 113.

When she reaches the alley once more her pace quickens and she hurry's up beside the injured man and checks his pulse. He's still breathing and conscious, although still not as much as she'd hoped.

"So, the ambulance is on its way. Just try to keep conscious, okay?" She says to him. The man turns his head and his black eyes towards her, and they lock eyes, and she can't get herself to tear her gaze away.

"So much grief…" He mumbles, still looking at her, tears streaming seemingly involuntarily, as he tries to blink it away. Slowly he closes his eyes and drifts off, despite Isis trying to keep him awake. In the end she slides down against the wall, beside him, studying him. He's got pitch-black hair down to his shoulders. He is also well built. He looked like he is maybe in his mid 40's. There was something dark and alluring by him, despite his wounds and tears. He struck her as someone not likely to end up here in this state.

After a while she rise at the sound of the sirens approaching and heads back out to the street to meet them and show them the man. In all of a sudden the alley is flustered with people and the man is taken away in an ambulance.

Suddenly she's standing alone in the alley, the smell of smoke and melancholy in the air. She turns to leave but a glimmer catches her eye beneath all the rubble. Turning towards it she leans down and start to dig and uncovers a beautifully crafted crown of reddish gold, along with a deathly white sword in it's scabbard, a menacing weapon and if not a extremely heavy one at that. After a few seconds of thinking she realizes it must be the wounded man's belongings.

_It can't just lie out here…_ she thinks to herself, and at that she takes them with her, intending on returning it to the man.

When she gets back into the apartment, she puts the crown and sword on the table. _What the hell does someone do with a crown and sword? Yeah well, obviously you wear it and stuff but this is the 21st century…_ She keeps staring at the objects for another 10 minutes, not able to figure the mystery out, before she heads for her bedroom, not minding the blood covering her. Feeling exhausted by everything that had happened that night, she collapsed on the bed and drifted off into a restless sleep. A pair of black eyes, searing red flames and a black dragon rising from the smoke, roaring, devours her dreams, and she is, despite her efforts, not able to wake up.


	3. Chapter 3

The alarm clock on her phone ringing was what awakened Isis the next morning. Unusually groggy she staggered out of bed and stumbled down the stairs. The sight meeting her was not pleasant. Her textbooks and candles lay scattered around the apartment after the violent earthquake. She groaned as she beheld the pile of books. Shuffling towards the couch, she collapsed on the soft pillows. She leaned forward and held her head in her hands, rubbing her temples. She sighed and had another look around the room. _What happened last night?_ Her eyes halted when she saw the crown and sword. _That man._ She suddenly remembered. _Oh my, is he okay? All that blood… I wonder what happened to him… _Remembering all the blood made her remember she had it all over herself as well, and in a matter of seconds she rushed to the bathroom intending on getting it all off. _This is just sick_ she thought to herself as she stripped and went into the shower.

When she got out of the shower, she hurriedly walked back into her room and had her entire wardrobe turned upside down. She settled for a maroon top, black jeans and a leather jacket. After her hair and makeup are done, she grabs her bag and car keys and locks herself out of the apartment, intending on visiting the injured man from last night. She _had_ to know.

The car ride to the hospital didn't take long. After 20 minutes she pulled in at the hospital's parking lot, and headed for the entrance.

Approaching the information counter Isis was met by a nurse sitting behind it.

"Excuse me, I'm here to see the injured man that came in here last night." She said, feeling slightly stupid. _Idiot, there must be loads of injured people coming in everyday._

The nurse studied her for a moment before answering. "You mean the man with the stab wound in his stomach?"

Isis nodded, "Yes."

"I see, are you family or a friend?" she said not looking at me, scanning through some documents. "No, I'm the one who found him, and called the ambulance last night." Isis answered, "Is he okay?" she added worriedly. The nurse looked up at her one more time, "He was severely wounded but he's been through surgery and is stabile for now. He is probably going to make it." She smiled at Isis, in an attempt to calm her. She continued, "As for visiting him, you can find him on the fifth floor in room 483. It's hard to miss, but if you do, there is nurses upstairs who can show you." Smiling at Isis all the while.

"Thank you!" Isis said, and she turned around, heading towards the elevator. Standing in elevators with a bunch of other people was probably the most awkward thing she knew of. Although this time it was only a mother with a newborn child, they were probably heading home for the first time together.

Isis smiled to the young woman as she entered the elevator. _That child is so adorably cute_, she thought to herself. Having children wasn't one of her first priorities in life but as she grew older and every one of her friends had finally settled down, she sometimes felt an incredibly longing as well as anxiety, fearing she would never have the opportunity of love and motherhood. These thoughts often ravaged her mind, and it wasn't before the elevator reached the fifth floor, where she was forced to move, that she was able to tear herself away from the depressing thoughts.

_Fifth floor, room 483, can't be that hard…_ Isis studied the hall she was standing in and her eye caught the sight of room number 483, as she wandered the corridor. Breathing in and out she slowly walked over to the door. Taking one last breath, preparing herself for what might meet her, she pushed the door open.

The room was, as every hospital, startling white and sterile. In the far end of the room there was a bed and the man lay in it. All covered in wires and different equipment.

He wasn't awake yet. Isis decided on waiting for him to wake up. She had a lot of questions for him, so she sat down in the corner of the room beside the television. She had brought with her a book, she figured she needed a break from all the reading to finals and she had settled for a book a friend of her had lent her.

A few hours passed, and the nurse came in checking in on the man. Isis just smiled pleasantly, showing she did not want to be disturbed.

Finishing the chapter Isis finally looked up from her book. The man was stirring.

She slowly got up from her chair and approached the bed, not too close.

Drawing her breath she dares speaking in a quiet voice, "Excuse me, but can you hear me?" Anxiety gripped her. The reply was late. "Yes, I can hear you quite well." His voice was low and rich. His eyes were still closed. She stiffened at the sound, as she took a few more steps towards him. "Do you know where you are?" she continued.

"What kind of question is that. Of course I know, foolish girl!" His answer hit her like a whip. _What? _Isis was completely baffled by his answer. "You do?" frowning as she spoke. "Is there a point of this disturbance? I thought I have made this crystal clear to not be disturbed!" he sneered, his eyes still shut, but his facial expression was tensing. The equipment was working faster as his adrenaline kept rising. "You've never said…" She answered hesitantly, watching the monitor and the man, unsure of what to do, but before she could decide his eyes shot up. She screeches and jumps back. He abruptly sits up, groaning in pain because of his wound. She rushes back over to him and tries to get him back down. "Careful, you've suffered quite the wound." She tells him, and he meets her eyes and his face grows hard as granite. "Who are you?" He whispers in a cold, hollow voice, gripping her arm. She shrank back by the iciness in his voice, and tried to jerk her arm out of his iron-grip, but she remained where she was.

"My name is Isis Winther. I found you severely wounded on the street last night…" She answers, trying to keep her voice steady. She was amazed how well she managed to do so. The pain in her arm was increasing by the second.

"You seem to misunderstand my question, love. _Who are you?"_ His voice rising as he spoke. "I told you! My name is Isis. I'm 25 years old, I study history and I have no idea what more information you need. It's all irrelevant, really." She whispers, trying not to panic also as well as trying to keep the tears from emerging by the stabbing pain in her arm. "Can you please let go, it's starting to hurt." She looks into his eyes once more and the grip on her arm loosens.

She staggers back in pain and breath heavily while supporting her body on the table by the window. She beholds the man now rising from the bed, clearly not affected by his wound anymore and stares at her. Eyes cold and cruel, and he is clearly furious with something…or someone... Isis heaves for her breath while searching for an escape-route. _This man is crazed. _She jumps out the way as he furiously charges at her, and race past him, heading for the door.

Lithe as a cat he quickly starts after her, and as Isis grabs a hold of the doorknob and tries to open it, the man slams the door shut with a loud _clank. "Who are you!" _He shouts at her, grabbing a hold of her shoulders he shoves Isis hard against the wall as if she was a nothing but a mere rag doll. Isis slowly slides down to the floor. Fearing he would hurt her again, she remains on the floor, not daring to move away. She raises her shaking hand and touches the backside of her head and feels blood seeping through her hair.

She watches the man approaching her, his face contorted in rage and desperation, a terrifying sight to see. Halfway through the room he staggers and leans against the wall, fists clenched, teeth's gritted. In a few seconds the man is no longer able to stand up and he falls to floor, with his clenched fists to his temples and a terrible expression of agony written all over his face.

_"_No, go away…"He growls, eyes tightly shut before he shouts out in rage,_ "I didn't do it!"_

Isis finally gets the courage to try and stand up, as she shuffles along the floor and tries to stand up. On wobbly feet she circles around the man still bent over on the floor and reaches blindly for the door, not daring to take her eyes off the man. The door slowly opens and she quickly turns her back on him.

"No… Stay, please…" The low voice of the man reaches her. The voice was soft and compelling and she couldn't walk further. Slowly turning around, she sees the man still lying on the floor. "Why?" she stutters, her voice trembling before continuing, "You'll just hurt me again." The man lifted his head and faced her, "No, I'd never hurt you…You… Just stay…" he whispered, more to himself than to her. Her eyes turned to slits in anger. _You just did, you freak!_ However, she couldn't get herself to tell the man to go to hell and with careful movements she slowly close the door, still staring down at the man. Ever so slowly he gets back onto his feet and sits down in one of the chairs in the far corner. Staring out in the empty space Isis could see he struggled hard to compose himself, and gain control over his body.

She moved on light feet, pain throbbing in the back off her head and she sat down in the opposite corner of the room, trying to put as much distance between them as she could.

For twenty minutes they both sat still, no one said a word or made signs of movement. She studied him all the while he stared emptily into nothing. He didn't look well, and this man was quite certainly dangerous…


	4. Chapter 4

**READ: This is a edited version of the previous chapter. I was not satisifed with the previous chapter at all, so I decided to take another shot on it. Some pieces of the previous chapter is still present, but I have changed the ending. So just... Erase and replace, guys. I spent all night pondering upon it, and I realized I like this way better, I don't know about you guys though so please, read and review! I hope you're not bored. I'm doing the best I can!**

**Galbatorix POV:**

The young woman stood by the door for a minute before slowly closing it and sitting down in the chair opposite of him. She watched him with a wary eye but said nothing. Galbatorix could feel her pulse and thoughts race, but her facial expression remained neutral. Over the years he had met a lot of beautiful young women. Her tall slender figure was admirable but still nothing unique. Under other circumstances he would probably never have remembered her. Her eyes was however of a deep, cool blue. Her platinum hair fell down her back in soft thick waves and her skin was radiantly pale. Sharp, like a razor. Just like _her._ Her voice was soft yet strong and clear as a bell, and it had awakened memories in him he had once thought to be long lost. It took everything he had to not lash out at her again, to calm himself... The pain was tightening its hold around his chest. The voices never ceased, the screams never died and he struggled to keep his tremors in check.

Before the woman could realize he had been watching her, he averted his gaze away. His mind felt unusually _disorientated_. Instead of the burdening weight of others mind it was oddly empty, except for the whispers of people long gone still haunting him. Staring out into the air gained nothing but confusion as he was taking in his surroundings. All white, light and the smells felt alien. He couldn't even remember how he got there. His recent memories were literally washed away. The last he could remember was The Varden at the gates of Urû'Baen, after that... Nothing. Just a ray of white light. At first he had thought she had been one of his foolish servants, obviously not familiar with the risk of disturbing him in his sleep or even at all.

"What is your name?" The soft, tense voice of the woman broke the silence, and he turned his gaze on her once more, and he met her sapphire blue eyes, and for one moment he forgot the pain, and he felt like he was falling once again.

***_Flashback*_**

Tall buildings of an elegant style and silvery colors were scattered around in the centre of the city. Beneath the buildings, on the ground, two figures were walking casually side by side. Tall and proud with gleaming swords by their sides.

"Are you sure about this? It's quite the journey." Cedric asked as they both walked through the gardens of the Rider's city.

"It's not the journey as much as the destination they say. In other words… I am _very_ sure." Galbatorix replied with a smirk on his face. "Alkin has also agreed to come with us. I trust it will be quite the adventure."

Cedric still looked a little skeptical as his hazel eyes scanned the air. "You're probably right, as usual. Although the elders would try to stop us if they knew of our intentions." Galbatorix raised his head. "Probably." He said, before turning around by the sound of loud reverberating _thuds. _Descending from the sky was a beautiful pale-gold dragon, shimmering in the sun like the moon. She was a magnificent creature with a beautiful arched neck, regal head and great white talons. She landed gracefully on the fields, folded her wings and approached her rider.

Galbatorix smiled and walked towards her.

_How was your hunt? _Galbatorix asked Jarnunvösk as he neared her. The great dragoness craned her head, puffing smoke out from her nostrils. _Nothing out of the ordinary, dear. Those snails are getting rather boring for my taste. Oh well, I can manage. For now. _She looked at him with a humorous gleam in her eyes, nudging his shoulder in affection. _So I thought. If we're lucky we'll be out of this place in a few days time, and then there probably won't be much snails to eat. _Galbatorix replied, stroking Jarnunvösk's snout. He had come to realize that she was the only one he truly cared for in this life, and she was the only one who truly cared for him. The only one who believed in him, in his potential and strength. She was the light in his life. Not an uncommon feeling between riders and their dragons, but still unique to each individual.

_I can't wait. _Jarnunvösk's clear voice deep in his mind, and her brilliant blue eyes staring fondly into his own.

***Flashback End***

Isis POV:

The man's eyes gleamed in sorrow. He clutched his fists together even harder and he was staring blindly into the air, as if being somewhere else. His tears were dripping but he did nothing to stop it. He took sharp, short breaths.

Isis head throbbed painfully and she was not sure what to do. He had asked her to stay, but he was clearly unstable. Also she still thought the wound had to bother him in some kind off way, it wasn't good for him to be sitting up right. She carefully rose from the chair and slowly approached the seemingly immobilized man. His pain, whether it was mental or physical was so evident she could almost feel it herself. She reached out her arm and carefully touched his shoulder. His head snapped up, his eyes re-focused and he stared, shaking with tremors and tears sliding down his cheeks, his eyes looked almost human, nothing like the cold hard orbs when he previously attacked her. However she quickly withdrew her hand away, on near reflex, anxious she had enraged the man again. However he made no signs of it.  
"Make it go away…" he whispered to her, his voice low and weak. "It's too much…" He continued before lowering his head. She went down to his level and asked, "Make what go away?" in a silent, yet emotional voice. She started to feel extremely sorry for this man. He was all broken, and she caught herself wondering what could have happened to this person to make him so devastated. "The pain, the sorrows. Everything I've done… It's too much…" He whispers frantically. His squeezes his eyes shut and take his fists to his temples. "I'm sorry I let you die…" he softly cries. "Let who die?" Isis frowns, and she takes his face in her hands. "My soul… You… Your eyes…" he keeps whispering, in the end incoherently. "Okay, maybe you should just try to lay down?" Isis carefully proposes. When the man didn't respond she carefully tried to get him to stand up. He didn't resist and followed, Isis guessed he didn't have a clue what was happening. _Christ, this man is tall. _She thought as she guided him towards the bed again.

Just as they reached the bed, the previous nurse walked into the room. She was completely dumbstruck by the scene. "Oh my god, what are you doing out of bed! You shouldn't be up, and you, young lady, hsouldn't be up here. It's past visiting hours." She said and hurriedly walked over to them. There was as if something said _click_ in the man, because he suddenly tore himself away from Isis, shoved her behind him, and charged at the woman. He did the same thing as he had done to Isis and grabbed a hold of the woman and slammed her up against the wall, except that this time he held the woman by the throat.

The woman screamed, a terrified high-pitched sound. Isis staggered again by the impact; supported by the table, just this time it wasn't her that was in trouble. She had to get help. She bolted around the bed and pushed the emergency button, usually used by patient's who are in need of something.

In just a matter of a few seconds several other people barged into the room, both doctors and nurses. They quickly saw what the situation was about and they ran for the man and the nurse who was already half-dead by the strangling. A few of the nurses ran for the man and the nurse trying to separate them. A doctor ran for the medical section and filled a syringe with a strange looking liquid and hurriedly walked over to the people struggling and drove the syringe into the mans upper arm and injected it. They struggled with the man for another few minutes before he started to lose balance and they tore him apart from the now injured nurse. They dragged him towards the bed all while Isis had been watching in horror.

"Miss, you can't stay here." A mans voice called. She hesitantly tore her gaze away from the struggling man who was now being strapped to the bed, and met the doctor's eyes. He had his hand on her shoulder, trying to guide her out of the room. She let him, although she was in some way reluctant to leave.

"What will happen to him?" Isis asked the doctor on their way out of the room. "Nothing for now. He didn't injure the nurse severely, but I won't know for sure if she will press charges. And you? Did he hurt you?" The doctor looked at her. Isis was almost reaching for the backside of her head, when he asked, before she forced herself not to, although it still hurt. She didn't want him to get in more trouble than necessary, even though he acted like a lunatic. "No," she said. She surveyed the hall for a second before turning her attention back to the doctor. "I should probably go home now. I'm tired. It's been a long day…" The doctor smiled at her. "Yeah, you probably should." He turned to head back to the man's room and Isis hurriedly walked towards the elevator. The trip down to the first floor took ages, and when she finally reached it she hastily rushed to her car. Flinging the purse on the passenger seat, she strapped her seatbelt on, put the keys in the ignition and drove out of the parking lot. She highly doubted she would come back for the man, although something was clearly pulling her to him. Despite everything she didn't feel afraid anymore, just extremely sympathetic. He seemed like someone who had gone through a lot, but he _was_ a danger, she realized that.

When she finally got home once again, she parked her car and slowly made way for her apartment. She didn't even register the walk up the stairs; suddenly she was standing outside her door. When she got inside she saw all the mess that she had left after the shake, and she groaned in stressful agony as she realized she had lost a whole day of reading for finals. With a tired and aching back she got in the shower and washed off all her blood from the back of her head. It was a superficial wound, and she doubted it needed medical attention. After she brushed her hair, and changed she felt like falling asleep, but her guilty conscience didn't let her go to sleep. Instead she walked out in the living room, cleaned up the mess, sat down and continued reading through her history books and notes. She couldn't allow herself to fail.


	5. Chapter 5 - Part 1

Isis awoke with a start. Her phone was ringing. Trying to slow her breathing and calm her adrenaline she sagged of the couch and grabbed the phone lying on the table. _What time is it anyway?_ She cleared her voice before answering. "Hello?"

"Hello, I'm calling from the Department of Acute medicine. Is this Isis Winther?"  
Isis frowned, not entirely sure if this was a joke. "Yes, this is her."  
"Good. Yesterday you visited a patient at our hospital, on the fifth floor. Am I correct?" The male voice said.  
"Yes, that's right. I was the one who found him and called the ambulance. I visited to make sure he was okay. Why?" She replied, still feeling a little groggy. The voice didn't answer for a moment. "So, you didn't know this man, from before?" Isis rolled her eyes in annoyance. "No, I did not. Is something wrong?"  
"He is gone." The voice finally said. Isis eyes widened. "What?!" She gasped. "But he was strapped down. How did he get out?"  
"Yes, he is nowhere to be found. We don't know about that either. By the looks of it, it seems like he has, somehow, broken free of them, although I find that hard to believe, it is solid material. We were hoping you might know of his whereabouts, considering you were the only one that visited him." The man in the other end replied. Isis shook her head slowly. "No, I'm sorry I truly don't know. I have been home ever since I got home last night."  
"That's okay. I'm sorry to interrupt you so early in the morning, but this man is fairly injured and he may be a danger to others or himself if we don't find him."  
Isis sighed deeply at this. "Yes, of course. I understand. How did you find me anyway? I don't remember registering my name or number when I arrived."  
"You left your friend's book in the patient's room on the table yesterday. She had written her name and number, maybe in case the book got lost or anything. So we called her up, and she gave us your name and number." The man on the phone sounded somewhat amused. Isis cocked one of her eyebrows. _Wow. Talk about going to great lengths. _"Oh, I totally forgot about the book. My friend will probably tear me to pieces for losing it. She's very fond of her books." Isis answered with an amused tone.  
"She probably will then, but the book is still here. You or your friend can pick it up anytime you want, that's not a problem. Anyway, I apologize for disturbing you so early in the morning."  
Isis fingered the handle of the sword lying on the table beside her. "That's not a problem. I'm sorry I couldn't be of any help."  
"Well, you have a good day, miss Winther." He replied in a friendly tone.  
"You too, good-bye."  
After she hung up the phone she threw it on the table again. _If he is gone, where is he?_ She still fingered the handle of the sword and she turned her attention to it. She had never had time to study the details of it. It was a beautifully crafted weapon, but it still seemed… Dead. The pommel was a huge, clear crystal, and the handle was beautifully wrapped in silver. The blade however was what sent chills down her spine; the white lacked some kind of light. Like sun bleached bone.  
When she could not reveal anything new details about it, she placed it at the end of the table again.

She found herself, surprisingly enough, worried about the man from the hospital. She couldn't figure out whether it was out of pity for the man or pity for the person the man might bump into. He had ceased his attacks on her, if only temporarily. He said he wouldn't hurt her, although he had done so. He clearly savored no mercy for the poor nurse. He was in some way merciless. So he might as well attack someone else. He was clearly a huge emotional mess. She could never imagine feeling so much pain that he probably did. Despite everything she just wanted to help, but it seemed highly unlikely she could.

She assumed the reasons she wanted to help were because of her own emotional range. Over the last couple of years Isis used to be ruled by her emotions, so much that it used to crush her down, but over time she had learned to handle it, both positive and negative. That's why she rarely showed emotion, but despite her denying it, she was a truly emotional person. Isis could either be extremely moved by her them, or cynical, determined not to feel anything at all. However she was always the one her friends sought out whenever they were down, _"But you always know what to say and do…"_ they said to her. She could also determine in an instant whether someone was worth her time or not. That was also one of the reasonable explanations on why the amount of close people around her was so low. Her friends just usually dealt with her that way. They always knew where they had her; she would always let people know when they grated on her nerves, and she would always speak her mind. She preferred to think of it that she was nice and empathic to those close to her and those that were nice to her. Anything less and she would treat them coldly. If she treated her enemies with kindness wouldn't that place her at their mercy? Now, if that were her way of thinking, why would she care for the mystery guy? She didn't know. She couldn't tell. She just somehow knew he was someone worth anybody's time. She could feel there was much more to him than met the eye, and she found herself extremely curious, a weakness she had had all her life. She could go to extreme lengths to satisfy her curiosity, and one day she was probably going to get burned because of it. She could spend hours upon hours researching. It also gave her the private time that she needed from other people. That being said; family and friends was what truly counted in her life, although she often found herself avoiding them … _Family…_

Isis went numb at this thought. She didn't even notice her phone ringing once again before it was too late. She snapped out of it, and grabbed her phone. Sighing deeply she sunk deeply back into the pillows and checked her missed calls. _Speaking of friends…_ It was from one of her most early childhood friends, Leah.

She pushed the dial button, trying to reach her. As always Leah spent a hundred years answering, even though she was at the phone herself not even two minutes ago.

"Isis!" A cheery voice sounded from the other end. "Hi, Leah." Isis answered with a smile.  
"I've been trying to reach you for ages, but you turned your phone off, you little skank." _Auch._ Isis' smile widened. "Why, you know I've been trying to study for my finals." At this Leah giggled. "Trying? Meaning you haven't been able to?" Isis rolled her eyes. "Circumstances arose. They forced me to put the books away for some time."  
"That's wonderful! Meaning you will have time for me visiting you, yes?" Isis paled. "No! No, no…" Leah visiting meant that she would never leave. "Oh, come on, you can't be anti-social forever!" Leah laughed.  
"I am not anti-social, I'm not a people's person." Isis retorted with a slight smile.  
"Well, I shall have you know that I'm not just anyone. So, I can come over, yes? I have something I need to show you. " She squealed with excitement. At this Isis got extremely worried. "What now? Not anymore anime, I hope…"  
Leah was silent for the longest while. "I can't promise anything, but I'll see in an hour! Bye-bye!" She giggled one more time before hanging up. Isis was dumbstruck, and she could only stare at her phone. _I should have known better than to call her up again… This is entirely my own fault…_

An hour later Isis had almost finished cleaning her apartment, she didn't want anyone to see the mess she had made. Isis was amazed at how quickly she could manage to make such a small apartment look like a battlefield in just a few weeks.

A few sharp knocks sounded on the door, but before Isis had time to turn around and walk for the door it flew open with a loud _bang._ Slightly irritated she whirled around, but before she had time to react in any other way something threw itself at her, tightly hugging her, pushing the air out of her.

"Leah, I can't breathe." She gasped.  
"Oh, don't be such a grump. I've missed you!" The girl retorted and hugged Isis even tighter.  
Isis huffed and eventually managed to snake her way out of her friend's grasp.

Isis and Leah studied each other for a moment. "You look terrible," Leah said after a while, still smiling before continuing, "Why you insist on keep studying I will never understand. You look like you haven't slept in months, not to mention you're spending a lot of money on this "education" of yours." Isis smirked. Heading for the open front door. "Well, the money isn't a problem, however, not being able to spend my time on actual studying is." She closed the door and turned around facing her friend.  
Leah cocked her head. "Are you hinting at something?" Isis shook her head with exaggerated movements, "No, not at all." her voice coated with heavy sarcasm. Leah ruffled her black bangs and hair before settling down in one of the chairs by the kitchen table. Isis sat down on the opposite side of the table. Leah suddenly got an evil gleam in her eyes. "_You._" Isis blinked her eyes in confusion. "What?" Isis said slowly. Leah leaned back, studying her like some wicked witch. "You left my book unattended at the hospital. Whatever you were doing there." She said forming a sly half-smile. Isis avoided her face. "Oh… Yeah… I was going to get it back for you."  
She smiled apologetically. Leah studied her for an even longer while this time, before starting to laugh. "No, it's fine. I can pick it up sometime. I forgive you." She said, and Isis pretended to let out a huge sigh of relief.

However Leah still had that playful gleam in her eyes, and Isis knew that look way too good.  
"What is it you've bought now?" Isis muttered.  
"This!" and she pulled out a huge book.  
"What's that?" Isis said, knowing she would regret it instantly. "It's A Wizard's First Rule! I had to buy a new copy because the old one literally fell apart page by page." She squealed with her hysterical fangirl voice. Isis had never read it, although Leah was constantly talking about it. Actually she was talking constantly about anything fantasy-related. All she knew about the books was how "epic" it was, but Isis knew Leah had an annoying habit of raping the word "epic" every time she tried explaining something she loved. "So?" Isis cocked her eyebrows, smiling slightly at Leah's behavior. "So, you have to read it! You'd love it, I promise. Besides, you need some adventure in your life." Leah tapped the book repeatedly and tried giving it to her. She was so excited she couldn't even sit still. Laughing softly Isis shoved the book away. "I'm sorry. I don't have time to read anything more right now. I have more than enough on my hands at the time. I should be reading now actually." Isis suddenly felt extremely bad for not reading, and her heart dropped like a stone at the thought.

Leah grasped her hand, and made her snap out of it. "Hey, don't worry. It'll be fine. You need to relax. You're probably the most aspiring and best academic I know of. You'll pass without much effort. I think you need to realize that you can't lock yourself up for the rest of your life. You need to live, like any other person." She said.  
Isis still wasn't convinced. "I don't think so…"  
Leah stared at her one more moment. "Say what you want. I'm sure it won't kill your results. I think you need some kind of break just for a few days. It'll be good for you." Leah said, smiling kindly to her friend.  
Isis tried to return the smile but she wasn't completely able to.

This was the reason they were friends. They had been best friends since forever, even before kindergarten. They used to be next-door neighbors. They would always play together, and Leah would always be the dreamer who would jump of the roof with an umbrella because she believed she could fly and Isis would be the one to pull her out whenever she got caught in situations she couldn't get out from, to console her. In return Leah was the one person who had stood unwavering by Isis' side all her life, through all her turmoil's in life.

"Come on!" Leah jumped up. Isis stared at her. "What for?" Isis asked frowning.  
"You need to get out. Get some air." Leah said, looking at her.  
Isis threw up her arms, and leaned back in the chair. "Go where? I was out yesterday, besides, where would we go?"  
Leah grabbed a hold of her arm and dragged her out of the chair and pushed her towards the door.  
"You're depressing me. Come on. Get your coat on and we'll go." She shoved her into her towards the door.  
"Okay, fine! Although I highly doubt anything could actually depress you." Isis laughed at her while she put on her shoes and coat. Leah laughed at her. "Well, you used to be a little fun once. I'm intending to make you fun again today. Now, come on, get out of that door."  
Isis smiled and sighed as she let Leah push her out the front door as well. Taking the keys from Isis and locking the door she dragged Isis with her down the stairs.

"You know, why the building designers didn't include an elevator when they planned this building I will never understand." Leah said as they were walking down the stairs.  
"Maybe because it is ancient?" Isis proposed as she stumbled down behind her, her arm still in Leah's grasp. She could still feel the bruising from yesterday's incident with the man from the hospital, but she kept silent, grinding her teeth every time it hurt.

"Will you tell me where we are going anyway?" Isis asked as they reached the first floor.  
"We're going somewhere you haven't been in a while." Leah smiled slyly. Isis raised her eyebrows in question. "Meaning pretty much anywhere." Leah laughed. "No, silly. We're going to the mall." Isis paled for the second time that day. "No, no… That will take forever."  
Leah laughed. "That's the point, Isis! You need to have some fun." She dragged Isis towards her own car and tucked her inside. Then she got into the car herself and locked the doors, "Just so I know you won't run and hide." She told her with her most serious voice, before cracking up. Isis couldn't help it; she laughed too, an unusual sound.

**Author's note: I hope this isn't getting too boring for you all, but Isis is an essential character in my story (no joke) and therefore there won't be all chapters with Galbatorix in them in the beginning. We all know him right? Isis also needs some background, so yeah. This is only the first part. Originally I was planning on only one chapter but it proved to be too long, so I decided to split it up in two parts. I hope you still enjoy! Please r&r and tell me what you think and what I could do better. I feel like I need it because right now I feel like this is going extremely bad. **


	6. Chapter 5 - Part 2

**Author's Note: So, this is the second part of the previous chapter. I seriously hope I'm not killing you guys with all my droning and lack of talent. Hahaha. Anyway, enjoy! ****I also got a few messages from people about this chapter, and I just wanna say that I've got absolutely nothing against religions or people's personal choice of belief, I'm just simply building a character in my story and that's it.**

**NEW EDIT: Yes, of course... I have edited the ending on this chapter just like another previous chapter. I hope you guys don't think it's too much of a change. I've been chewing on it for a long while and I found that some of the content as all wrong. I'm really sorry. I try avoiding doing this, and yes, I should probably be a 100 % sure about the content before I put it out, but sometimes it just fails me. Once again, thanks for reading!**

"Oh! We have to look there too!" Leah jumped around like hysterical five year old.  
"Fine, but this is the last one. We got to get home soon." Isis stated. Leah rolled her eyes, "Fine, you killjoy. But we are definitely watching this movie when we get back to your place." She said and pulled out the cover of a film and read on the backside. "Which one?" Isis absently said as she observed all the people around her. "This one!" Leah shoved the film up to her face. Isis ducked away and re-focused her eyes before reading. "Tangled?" She read, a smile starting to spread across her face. "Yes! You still like Disney don't you? Because if you don't, then we're not friends anymore." Leah giggled. Isis giggled a little too for the first time, as they both started walking for the shop.

"Shit my phone just went out of battery…" she could hear Leah mutter beside her. Isis smiled, "Well, if there is any kind of comfort so did mine an hour ago." Leah looked at her with an expression of exaggerated horror. "Oh no! No more Facebook!" At this Isis snorted with laughter. "The end of the world indeed."

Leah eyed her, with a kind facial expression. "It's nice to see you happy again, even if it is only temporarily. You need some color."  
"Well, I'm just glad you're not suffocating in my company."  
"Isis, you could never make me feel like I'm suffocating in your company. You're my best friend. Despite you being perhaps the most argumentative, negative, pessimistic and reality-set person I've ever met. Seriously, I don't get how we're even friends at all. You don't like _any _of the things I do, and I probably don't like whatever it is you like. Is there something you like, besides science, history or studying? Never mind, like I said; It's okay. I'm just glad I could help you feel better."  
Isis snorted with laughter. "Again; thanks."

"No, you got it all wrong!" Leah exclaimed as they drove back home. "You can't honestly say that religion cannot be a positive thing in some cases!" This was one of their more serious arguments, although Isis couldn't remember how they had gotten into this one. Isis cocked her eyebrow again. "Truly? Tell me one good thing that has come from these religions." She glanced over at Leah.

"Well, surely, there is a lot of negative downsides with it, but it includes some crucial guidelines in life, like the Ten Commandments." Leah slowly replied. Isis still looked at her with a skeptical look on her face. "Like what?" She mimicked her previous question.  
Leah shrugged. "Well, they teach you how to love, the value of innocence, how to live your life in a good way." Isis raised her eyebrow even higher. "Define innocence." She said plainly, before continuing, "Besides, if your religion has to threaten to burn you alive in order to convince you to believe, then that is a _giant red flag_ that your religion is bullshit and the authors knew it." Isis said as she looked out the window.

"As always, you are impossible to convince otherwise." Leah's voice finally broke through the silence before she said, "I'm not super religious, and I'm not saying that religion should rule your life, but I'm just saying that having something to believe in, is for a lot of people a way of dealing with their everyday life."  
Isis kept looking out the window while answering, "Yeah, well, I choose to believe in myself. I am my own good and bad. I am my own God in life, and if there is something that I wish for, I have no one but myself to turn to for that to happen. That is my philosophy in life."  
Leah frowned. "That sounds reasonable enough, but it sounds extremely egoistical as well, when you think about it." Isis was silent for a few seconds before answering, "Yes, it's quite egoistical, but I see it as the natural course of life… I have an example," Isis turned to Leah "Let's say you are driving behind someone else and said person in the car before you brutally crash their car, and you are the only person present. Who is the one with the power? If you can save that person, who is the one who holds power of life or death of that person? You, or some imaginary guy you've never seen in your life, that you have no proof whatsoever exists? I believe in free-thought and the fact that no woman or man should ever resign responsibility in life or pray to be at someone else's mercy. What you do in life is entirely up to yourself." Isis looked at Leah, waiting for a reaction.

Leah sighed, suddenly more solemn than ever, "So, you don't believe there could be anything greater in life? Neither God or any other kind of magic?"  
Isis considered it for a moment. "I believe there could be a lot more to this world than what I can see at this point in life, and of course there _could_ be a God somewhere, but I haven't seen this God, but what I _have_ seen is humans, and what they can do, what they can accomplish in life. I don't believe there is a hidden truth somewhere. It's about the awakening of one's senses and asking questions about your life, and the world around you, and not just blindly committing yourself to believe in something just because that is so much easier to do than to take responsibility and face the world."

This time Leah that was silent for the longest while before answering, "Of course there is reason in your arguments, but I still choose to believe that there are greater things in life, and that hope can pull anyone through life." She said silently.

For five minutes both girls sat silently and watched the road ahead, until Leah couldn't hold her bubbly spirit back anymore. "How did we get in this awkward discussion anyway?" Leah was always easily uplifted. Nothing ever got her down for long.

Isis laughed, "Probably because of you saying "OMFG" repeatedly every time you're drooling over your favorite fantasy characters." She smirked at Leah, waiting for her reaction. Leah bursted out laughing, almost so violently that she had problems controlling the car for one moment, and Isis had to grab the steering-wheel. "Oh shit, sorry! Seriously, do I say it that much?" She composed herself and gained control over the car by herself, and Isis let go of the wheel. "Yeah, you do."  
"Well, I'm sorry." She said with a gleam in her eyes. Isis snorted, "No you're not."  
Leah giggled one more time. "No, I'm not."  
They were starting to near Isis' home when they spotted a shadow walking down the sidewalk. It was walking oddly. Leah suddenly slowed down at the sight of the figure. "What is it? A zombie you think?" Isis shook her head, "Probably just some drunk guy or…" she slowed down when they passed the figure, and her heart skipped a beat before exclaiming, "Stop! Seriously, stop!" Leah pushed the brakes violently and the car slid to a halt, the impact threw both girls forwards. Isis started unbuckling her seatbelt. "Isis, what the hell are you doing? Do you know him or something?" Leah asked nervously.  
Isis nodded, and bolted out of the car, approaching the figure.

Her suspicions were right, as she neared him. It was the mystery man from the hospital. He looked like hell. He was draped in a heavy looking cape and black clothes now. _He changed his clothes before leaving?_ It probably kept him warmer than the hospital shift though.  
She didn't want to get another hit to her head, so she tried approaching the man from the front. He saw her. He started walking towards her. "It's you again…" she breathed. "What are you doing out here? You should be in the hospital!" she said in an urgent voice. The man didn't register; he was near passing out again.  
Now Isis got extremely worried. He couldn't keep walking around out here… And the hospital was far away, and her phone's battery had died out along with Leah's cellphone. _I guess I'll have to bring him with me home and call the hospital from there… "_Okay," she told the man one more time, "just stay right here. Don't move, just…" She didn't quite know how to use her body at this moment, before she turned around and ducked inside the car, "Okay, can you just park your car over there and wait for me? He's coming with us. He is injured and almost frozen to death." Isis said to Leah. Leah slowly nodded, completely dumbstruck by Isis actions. Isis shut the door close and watched Leah drive away before turning to the man who still stood where he was. She walked back to the man and tried to get him to walk, she barely managed but he walked. She supported him all the way back to the block building where Leah stood waiting.

When she saw the man her face paled, and her eyes turned round. Isis, slightly irritated by her lack of initiative said, "Would you please help me? He's not light." Leah slowly nodded, but she clearly didn't know how to approach him, almost as if she was afraid of him. She eventually got the courage to support his other side and so both girls tried getting him up the stairs. It took them a great while, and the man was barely conscious. When they finally reached the fourth floor, Isis fished out her keys, and pushed the door open with one of her legs, all the while supporting the weight of the man. "Let's put him on the bed." Isis breathed; Leah nodded and she also heaved for breath. They staggered up another set of stairs before reaching the bedroom where they slowly lowered the man down on the bed. Isis made sure the man wouldn't roll off, before backtracking out of the room. She could hear Leah follow her, rather hastily. "Isis, do you know who that is?" Leah asked, as she tried to catch up with Isis by the end of the stairs. Isis turned around, "No, I don't even know his name." Leah's mouth dropped open. "And yet you bring him here?!" Isis felt oddly targeted. "Look, I found him injured two nights ago, in the back alley," she pointed over her shoulder, aiming at the window,  
"- and I called the ambulance and had them pick him up. Yesterday I visited him in the hospital, where he turned out quite violent, so they had him strapped down, but the hospital called me today, telling me he had disappeared. I couldn't just let him stay out on the street!" She frantically told her. She whirled around stalking out on the kitchen. Leah quickly snapped out of it. "Isis, you can't have him here! He is dangerous! And I have a pretty bad feeling as it is." She stated urgently, and stared at her like she was insane.  
Isis turned to her while picking up the home phone. "Yeah, I know he is dangerous, but what can I do?! Apparently I'm the only one around here who gives a damn about him. No one else has asked for him."  
"Isis, you can't have him here."

Isis face grew hard, and the stubborn child in her suddenly awoke from its slumber. "And why not!" She whirled around to face her.  
Leah's face grew just as hard. "How thick can you get Isis? A violent stranger in your home and you ask _why_ I don't approve of you keeping him here!" She shouted at her.

Isis slowly shook her head, before sinking down on the chair, rubbing her temples, and she didn't know whether to laugh or cry at her statement. She _did_ agree with her but still... "Leah, this…" She looked up at Leah with a serious expression. "You can't ask me to throw out an injured person who clearly has no where else to go. I found this guy, and until I know who he is, where he comes from and where he could go to get home I can't get myself to throw him out. This man could die from his injuries, and… I don't want him dying, okay? Letting him die on the street is also probably against the law. " When Leah heard the word _injuries_ she furrowed her brow. "Injuries? What kind of injuries?" She asks in a low voice.  
Isis shook her head, "It looked like a stab wound to me, and he also had a smaller injury under his arm, but that wasn't too bad. He was in surgery for a whole night after he arrived at the hospital.»

Leah suddenly looked somewhat guilty, yet not entirely. "Oh…"

Isis sighed and got up from her chair and started back for her room, walking up the stairs, Leah trailing behind. Isis stopped by the doorway and stared at the man.

"Leah… I can't…" Isis started. Leah came up by her side and looked at her with a serious face, before interrupting her, "Look, Isis, you don't have to throw him out, or even listen to me when I say that I think this is a bad idea, just consider the idea that you have no idea who this person is. For all we know he could be a serial-killer! He can turn out quite dangerous. He is violent, you said so yourself!"

Isis stared blankly at her. She knew. She knew deep inside that this was probably gonna be one of her stupidest mistake in life but she couldn't reject this person. Enough people had already died because of other people's mistakes in this world… She wasn't about to become one of them.

Isis slowly shook her head… She didn't know what to do anymore; all she wanted was to be alone.  
"I'm not throwing him out on the street. I will not have his death on my conscience merely because of your overactive imagination, Leah."  
"Besides, I think I have to go to sleep now. My head is spinning." Isis tiredly said, while she dragged her hands across her face. At that Leah got alert again. "Isis, I can't just leave you alone with this guy…" she started.  
Isis shrugged and interrupted her. "Seriously, Leah, I'll be fine. I just need to sleep. He won't hurt me. Trust _me_ on that…"

Isis turned to head downstairs again, and Leah followed. Isis stood watching as Leah put on her shoes and jacket again. Leah turned to her one more time, "You promise me you'll be fine and be careful?"

Isis smiled at her. "Yes, I promise." Leah still looked worried. "Just, be careful, seriously." She said in a low voice, staring into Isis' eyes.  
Isis stared quietly into hers. "I'll be careful."  
Leah nodded, her lips tight with worry. "And you call me in the morning or else I will call the cops. That is my promise to you."

Isis nodded, too tired to argument any further.

Leah still wore her tight expression and before she left gave Isis one last hug, before turning for the door.

Isis tried to go to sleep on the couch, but she couldn't get herself to sleep. Thoughts were swirling through her mind. What concerned her the most was how she was going to deal with him. He was impossible to communicate with, or at least he had been. He seemed to be completely enveloped in his own darkness and pain. Pain she could feel radiating from him.

After several hours of not being able to sleep or anything she decided to go up to her room and try to speak with him. She also needed to see to his wounds. They could have festered in this cold weather. She found herself tip-toeing when she reached her room. She considered whether she should turn on the light or not, but she figured that she had to. Slowly she reached for the switch and turned it on. It was bright and blinding, but the man didn't stir. He kept sleeping, deeply so.  
Slowly nearing the bed she bent down and tried to remove his cape that covered him but the weight of the cape nearly made her drop to the floor. It wasn't extremely heavy, but it was unexpected. She stared down at it, and felt the surface. It was worn, and felt leathery. She dragged it halfway above the floor and tucked it onto a chair in the corner of her room. _What's he got in that cape anyway? Stone?  
_She walked over to her bathroom that was adjacent with her bedroom, and went for one of her cupboards by the sink. There she pulled out something to cleanse wounds with, some cotton, and clean unused bandages. Heading back into her bedroom she settled beside the man and pulled of the fabrics that covered his wounds, along with the bandages that needed changing. The wound didn't look too bad, but she could see the skin around was irritated and so she pulled out some cotton and dipped it in the disinfection liquid and gently patted the area surrounding the wound, before she patched on a big waterproof plaster, and some unused bandages on top of it. Doing so was hard, the man was quite heavy and she didn't want to wake him, but she snaked her way around. After she was done she walked she walked over to the bathroom and threw all the used bandages and cotton in the trash before returning to the sleeping man. Pushing away the man's cloak she sat down and simply stared out into the air.

She must've fallen asleep, because when she lifted her gaze upwards, the sun was slowly rising above the horizon.

There was a sudden _bang, _and Isis startled. The man was lying on the floor. "Shit." Isis rushed over to him and slid down next to him.  
His eyes shot open when she touched his shoulder and he grabbed her upper arm. Her entire being suddenly erupted in an electric sensation. Her surroundings disappeared and she screamed in horror as she fell through a misty, glimmering surface.

Isis suddenly hit a cold hard surface and the air was instantly knocked out of her. She lay gasping for breath for a few seconds before crawling up onto her feet. Looking around she figured she couldn't be in her apartment anymore. The man was also nowhere to be seen.

She was in a deep forest, snow surrounding her. Cold crept up her spine as she stumbled through the darkness. She felt cold and the lack of sounds was terrifying. She kept moving on, until she saw a faint light at the near end of her vision. Stalking through the forest she made way for the light.

The ground underneath her suddenly disappeared and Isis yelped as she fell once again onto a smooth surface… Ice.  
Shakily she got up, her breath caught short and her body petrified.

Before her lay what seemed to be 3 huge figures, the size of small mountains. They were enormous, except for the fact that they were moving. Isis sucked in her breath. The mountains were breathing. _Oh dear…_ Isis gulped as she circled around them. _What in the world…_ Isis thought to herself as she ventured around the figures and in the midst of the figures she could spot a fire. The fire illuminated three sleeping dragons. For it _was_ dragons, Isis realized. A brilliant color of gold, green and pale white shimmered in the light of the fire. Isis took a few steps back, her pulse racing like crazy. _What is this place?  
_Suddenly one of the creatures stirred and lifted its head. It sniffed into the air before rousing itself completely. It was staring directly at her. Isis' breathing halted, her chest tightened and she silently quaked in horror. _Oh no… No, no, no… _"Go away!" She screamed in desperation, but the creature didn't waver, it stared right through her. Isis couldn't breathe; her chest hurt and her hands were violently shaking.


End file.
